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Parenting Older Kids is Like a High Wire Act Without a Net

parenting teens and tweens is hard

Parenting Tweens and Teens is Hard!

The force is particularly strong in our house this week, and by force, I mean hormones. I have three kids, a tween and two teens.

Having three middle schoolers would scare most people, and it should. Navigating puberty times three is not for the faint of heart.

While my kids seem to be handling it well, it is much harder for me.

I always felt like a confident parent. I parented by routine and my kids – and I – thrived in it. I made choices easily by doing what felt right for my little family, and didn’t get caught up in keeping up with anyone else.

Facebook was not around when my kids were infants, so I didn’t feel the pressures so many young moms now face due to social media, and I am lucky to have a strong network of supportive women in my life.

I didn’t always do everything by the book, and if you wanted to label me it would probably be “Crunchy, detachment, needs her sleep, part-time working mom.” I nursed all three of my kids. And also bottle fed. We eat mainly organic fruit and vegetables, unless we are at a friend’s house that busts out a packet of Oreos, then we are all in. I let all three of my kids cry it out at one point or another and I rarely let them sleep in our room, but I am all for early morning snuggles or late-night reading in my bed together.

It worked for us.

But now we are at a different point in our parenting journey. Sometimes it involves eye rolls, sighs the size of a hurricane and huffing and puffing — and that’s not only by my three daughters.

Parenting older kids is hard. They want their independence. They want to be heard. They want to grow up.

I just want them to pick up their stuff.

But more than that, I want to raise kind, compassionate, productive members of society, which is hard to do when you constantly feel like you are screwing them up.

On one hand, I want to let the little things go and hug them tight while I still can. I want to spoil them with trips for ice cream and lazy Sundays in our pajamas. I want to let them be little as long as I can.

On the other, I know I must ensure they are ready to take on this world in a few years. I need to address the dangers that are placed in front of them every day and teach them the skills to succeed.

It is a high wire act without a net.

The past week has been particularly trying. For some reason, the four females in our house are on edge. We cried a river of tears and are often an ocean apart on our viewpoints.

We argue about hair and taking showers and homework and eating habits. And after every bad interaction, I feel like a failure, like I screwed them up.

Raising big kids is hard.

Talk too much about the food they consume, and it can lead to an eating disorder. Discuss their appearance too much and it will cause poor self-esteem. Pressuring academic success can lead to depression. And although I never negotiate on good hygiene, I do wonder at what age I will have to stop saying the words, “We take showers so we don’t smell.”

Raising big kids shakes my confidence as a parent. As hard as I try, I feel like the wheels fly off a conversation faster than I can put them back on the bus.

I’m struggling to find balance in this new stage of our relationship. I want them to be independent and think for themselves, yet we still have rules and expectations. I want them to understand the basics of health and appearance, yet I do not want them to feel judged. I want them to excel in all they do, yet I do not want them to feel pressured.

We are in the eye of the tornado, and I am unsure where we will land.

Last night was a good night in our home, filled with love and laughter and joy and kindness. I pulled one of my daughters aside, one who I had a particularly trying time with, and said, “I’m glad we had some fun together after all that went on this week.”

Her big, clear eyes looked deep into mine, and she replied sweetly, “What do you mean?”

I was surprised by her response. “I mean, you and I had a rough week, and I know we didn’t see eye-to-eye on everything. I’m glad we could end it on a good note.”

And then she laughed. “Oh, Mom, it’s not a big deal.”

As I watched her turn and put her backpack away, I sat in shock. Here I thought I was crushing her self-esteem and ruining our relationship, and she showed me compassion.

Parenting teens and tweens is hard, but it doesn’t need to shake your confidence. I may need to work on my delivery, but my girls are getting the message loud and clear. We will have bad moments, but I will continue to remain steadfast in teaching them all the things I want them to know — and then adapt accordingly — as I have done since the beginning.

And the good moments will far outshine the bad.

Parenting older kids is hard, and it should be. We want our kids to push, explore and question.

And I am so lucky I get to do it.

 

parenting teens and tweens is hard

 

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